I don’t know if our mental abilities are superior or inferior to the ones of our ancestors. I think there is an equal chance of either possibility. I am just tired of seeing our (human) vanity color interpretations of archeological data…

In this particular instance:

“our mental abilities are superior” = our brains are larger (presumably more complex) and evidence of tool complexity increases over time = therefore, our mental abilities improve (presumably our ancestors had to rely on tools for survival just as we do today), etc.

“our mental abilities are inferior” = our brains are larger (presumably more complexity hinders original function) and evidence of tool complexity increases over time = therefore, our mental abilities degenerate forcing increased reliance on tools (presumably our ancestors did NOT rely on tools for survival as we do today), etc. Note: this scenario presumes psychic abilities of our ancestors. I don’t know any evidence that would prove or disprove it…